May 30/17 13:28 pm - Winston-Salem Men's Road Race results, Roth 2nd

Posted by Editoress on 05/30/17

Ryan Roth Second at Winston Salem

Riders contesting the Winston Salem Cycling Classic must complete 13 technical 13.7km laps marked by false flats and short punchy climbs through the city's residential and downtown streets. Typically the aggressive peloton remains strung out in single file for the majority of the 178km race until gaps start opening up and the attrition begins in earnest.

Silber Pro Cycling's Ryan Roth won the event in 2016 and returned in 2017 with a young, promising roster to help in the defense of his title. Nigel Ellsay and Stephen Bassett ensured Silber was present in the two major breaks of the day. Constant attacks and bridging nullified the first break, while Garneau Quebecor brought back the second major move of the day on behalf of their leader, Canadian Road champion Bruno Langlois.

With 50km to go, Roth attacked the front group of riders that had been whittled down to 8-10. Langlois latched on and shortly afterwards Holowesko's Robin Carpenter bridged. The trio worked together to hold off a hard charging group of five, including Oscar Sevilla (Medellin Columbia), Travis McCabe (UHC), Edwin Avila (Illuminate), Ty Magner (Holowesko) and Juan Carjaval (Medellin Columbia). Carpenter attacked decisively on the short, steep KOM hill with 1km to go and soloed to a well-earned victory. Roth would beat Langlois in the sprint for second.

Gord Fraser summed up our race: "Top to bottom, the guys rode well. Ryan showed his experience, racing acumen and determination to get a really good result."

"I'm happy to be on the podium in a really hard race," added Roth. "Hopefully this gets the ball rolling for Saguenay, Beauce and Nationals."